Few things in MTG are as controversial as the Reserved List. While hatred for Universes Beyond and dud sets come and go, this list remains a continued sore spot for many players. Considering it keeps some of the game’s best and most expensive cards being obscenely rare, this controversy is entirely unsurprising.
Despite constant complaints and criticisms, Wizards of the Coast has stood fast behind their promise to never reprint the Reserved List. As time goes on, however, it’s getting harder and harder to ignore the mounting pressure from fans. While we’re still a long way from abolishing the list entirely, it’s easy to see how this list is needlessly bloated right now.
Commander Calls for Reprints
Recently, Tumblr user J-waffles took to Blogatog to question Mark Rosewater, MTG’s Head Designer, about the Reserved List. Specifically, J-waffles wondered if Commander’s explosive rise in popularity has drawn more attention to the list, heightening the controversy. In response, Rosewater delivered something of an obvious, but nonetheless important answer.
“Commander’s popularity raises the number of cards players ask for reprints of.”
Mark Rosewater
Considering the obscene pieces that Commander staples can be pushed to, Commander driving demand for reprints is hardly news. Not only are new staples, like The Soul Stone, supremely expensive, but old cards also routinely spike in price. Earlier this week, for instance, we saw low supply cards like Flourishing Defenses shoot up in price.
With this in mind, it’s no wonder that Commander drives a lot of demand for reprints. This is particularly true for Reserved List cards, which are some of the most powerful and expensive cards in MTG. Unfortunately, as much as MTG players may want Reserved List reprints, it’s unlikely to happen anytime soon.
As much as Rosewater acknowledges the growing demand for reprints here, there’s no indication that anything will change. Due to this, I definitely wouldn’t hold your breath for Reserved List reprints going forward. That said, the Reserved List promise has been changed before, such as in 2010, when premium exclusive reprints were suddenly deemed possible by Wizards.
While this change definitely didn’t go down well, it nevertheless proves that change is possible. In theory, if there were enough pressure from players, this could lead to wider changes, such as cards being removed from the Reserved List. Considering this has happened before, with Limited Edition commons and uncommons being removed from the Reserved List, it’s surprisingly possible.
Reasonable Reprints
As much as the Reserved List might be hated, there’s no denying some cards are on there for good reason. Cards like Black Lotus and the rest of the Power Nine don’t really have any business being reprinted. These cards are far too powerful for anything but Vintage, and their price tag is part of their iconic charm.
While these cards are understandably off limits, there are plenty of other cards that could realistically be reprinted. Trailblazer, from Ice Age, for instance, is a terrible Reserved List card that has no business being unreprintable. Admittedly, Wizards doesn’t need to reprint this card when cards like Artful Dodge and Enter the Enigma exist, but that makes it even sillier.
Alongside Trailblazer, so many Reserved List cards are just terrible by modern MTG standards. Cards like Razor Pendulum, Xanthic Statue, and Apocalypse Chime have all been forgotten for good reason. That said, there are still some gems within the rough that could see play if more accessible.
While not all-stars in Commander, forgotten Reserved List cards like Flooded Shoreline still have potential. Second Chance, in particular, can create an infinite turns combo, while An-Zerrin Ruins can shut down specific archetypes. Admittedly, the use cases for all of these cards are fairly niche, but that’s hardly a sound reason to keep them on the Reserved List.
Realistically, the only crime these cards committed is being printed in the same era as other Reserved List cards. With this in mind, it feels unreasonable to keep these cards on the Reserved List for basically no reason. That said, while it might make sense to reprint these inoffensive cards, I still don’t expect Wizards to actually change anything.
Don’t Hold Your Breath
At this point, touching anything on the Reserved List is the start of a very slippery and dangerous slope. After all, if Wizards takes some MTG cards off the Reserved List, what’s stopping them from removing everything? For better or worse, there wouldn’t really be anything stopping reprints, as once the promise is broken, there’s no going back.
Due to this, I don’t think that Wizards of the Coast will ever touch, revise, or rework the Reserved List at this point. While it would be nice to have easier access to plenty of forgotten yet playable cards, the risk is too high. That said, the past precedent in 2002 does technically leave some wiggle room, should player sentiment become strong enough.
Even with that in mind, however, there’s a genuine threat of legal action if Wizards doesn’t play things correctly. There’s long been talk of lawsuits should ever go back on this promise, and considering the value of high-priced Reversed List cards, these threats could have merit. Unfortunately, this could keep Wizards from removing cards from the Reserved List today, even if it’s totally warranted.
Thankfully, if there is any silver lining to be had, it’s that a lot of forgotten and terrible Reserved List cards are cheap. This at least allows players to pick up some interesting cards without spending an absolute fortune. That said, when interesting Reserved List cards do get put in the spotlight, it often doesn’t take long for their prices to explode.
Stick with us here at mtgrocks.com: the best site for Magic: The Gathering coverage. Be sure to check out our deckbuilder for your next big brew!